Scaffolding 'temporary' fix

Scaffolding installed to reduce the risk posed by concrete falling from the University of Otago's arts building will remain in place until a decision on the building's future is made.

University director of property services Barry MacKay said scaffolding was put in place around the base of the quake-prone building in 2010 to catch any falling concrete and reduce the risk to people and property.

It was installed after a ''small piece of concrete'' fell and dented the bonnet of a car parked outside the arts building in 2010.

The vehicle was unoccupied at the time, he said,Mr MacKay said the scaffolding was a ''temporary'' fix, which would stay in place until the university settled on the building's future.

The arts building was one of two buildings, along with the property services building, the university was considering knocking down after it was found to be earthquake-prone.

''We are investigating options for this building before making a decision. This month, test bores were taken in order to better understand the ground condition.

''If the decision is that building has a medium to long-term future, repairs will be made quickly.''

The problem of ''spalling'', or decaying, concrete was not unique to the university and many building constructed in the same era as the arts building had similar problems.

''We have other buildings with similar issues but they are not as severe as the arts building.''

Condition audits were carried out regularly to identify possible problems, he said.

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